Page 10 of Poison Nights & Twilight Alchemy

Reed busied himself with dusting off his clothing and collected his blade, then started to climb from the grave.

“Thank you,” she stated, and he was surprised to find only sincerity in her expression.

Reed sighed and raked a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry, I was desperate to save my ill brother—he’s all I have left. I’ll take my leave now.”

“Wait.”

He turned back, one hand reaching for the ledge of the grave. To his surprise, the heiress held out the ring to him.

“Take it,” she uttered. “From one orphan to another.”

Reed looked from the ring to her face, curious what game she played.

“Promise to tell no one I’m alive, and you can have my jewelry.”

“I don’t understand.” Wasn’t her husband heartbroken over her death? Wouldn’t he be overjoyed to discover that his young bride was alive?

“In addition,” she exhaled, closing her eyes again. “I can’t seem to move my legs at all, and I would greatly appreciate some water.”

He simply stared at her and smirked. The rich giving orders. As they always would.

Meeting his gaze, she unclasped the pearls from around her neck with obvious effort and held them out to him along with her ring.

“I was nearly dead until you dug me up,” she said. “I have you to thank for my life. Will you help me?”

He was all too aware that time was running out for hisbrother, just as it had been for the heiress only minutes prior.

“Very well, Majesty.” Before she could protest, he lifted her in his arms and climbed from the muddy grave as she clung to him. Her body felt warm and impossibly delicate pressed against his, and the sweet scent of lilies filled his nostrils. He’d meant to startle her from issuing further orders, but as his gaze met her golden-brown eyes, Reed felt tempted once again to kiss her perfect lips. He was most assuredly losing his mind.

Her pristine gown now soiled, he released her gently upon the garden’s manicured grass and handed her the gourd of water from his belt.

Accepting it with shaking hands, she drank in giant gulps, and he noticed she was shaking, gooseflesh rising against her pale flesh. He didn’t waste a moment to remove his cloak and drape it over her shoulders.

“Take them, Reed,” Dulce insisted, and he started at the sound of his name coming from her. She then stood with admirable determination, holding the jewels out to him once more. “Save your brother. And speak of my living to no one.”

CHAPTER FIVE

DULCE

Reed took the jewelry from Dulce reluctantly, his brow arched as though she would reclaim them, and she felt a pang of sympathy for the strange young man with peculiar white hair. Her gaze met his and lingered there, his deep chestnut eyes widening just a fraction as her fingers remained against his for a heartbeat too long. His brows were as black as a raven’s wings, and with thick dark lashes and a slender build, he was quite handsome, truth be told.

Dulce folded his hand with finality over the jewels and left his warm touch. The pearls were nothing but a wedding decoration, a memory she wanted to forget froma marriage she wished she’d never chosen for herself. The ring was different—it had belonged to her mother, a special family heirloom. While she cared deeply about it, she didn’t cherish the jewelry as much as the intricately carved music boxes with the dancing figures inside that lined the shelf in her bedroom. Treasures her mother used to gift her on each birthday, sixteen in total. It was something she’d missed the most after her mother’s passing. Dulce’s temper rose at the thought of Cornelius taking possession of them. Herhusbandbetter not have touched a single one, or his fingers would go missing before she finished with him.

If Reed hadn’t been trying to thieve from her grave, she knew within her heart of hearts she never would’ve been found. And while Dulce should’ve been vexed with the thief for attempting to steal from her “corpse,” it was his actions that had saved her.

“Can I ask you something?” Reed inquired as he placed the jewelry in his pocket and busied himself with filling her grave once again. “Well, two things.”

“You may ask.” Dulce shrugged, stretching her stiff legs and arms, her muscles protesting after their confinement. “Whether or not I answer is another thing entirely.”

He angled his head to the side, regarding her for a moment before resuming his task. “How do you know my name?”

Half dead from lack of air by the time her coffin fell open, Dulce had known with chilling certainty that there was no use in fighting. She would’ve lost. Even if he had come to steal away her body for coin, she would’ve been useless against him. No, her only chance had been to wait,to breathe, and hope that her strength returned before it was too late.

“Ah, that.” She laughed softly. “I thought it wise to pretend death, since my strength had left me. Did I do well? I was sure you could hear my racing heart.” Everything Reed had spoken she’d heard, including his desperation to help his brother. His name.Reed. It suited the ivory-haired young man, somehow.

Dulce’s cheeks heated as his eyes fell to her chest for a split second before he focused on his task with renewed haste.Foolish thing to say.

“You did very well—I never guessed for a second that you lived.” He winked, returning the pile of flowers to her grave, followed by the lamp and bread, presumably as it had been before. Dulce shivered at the thought, then stretched her neck, the pain fading from her muscles in slow increments.

---